This is my first real grow!

[mstrpkl]

Awright.....if you need help I got this guy on stand by.

View attachment 2303172

Hell yea thanks dude!

Aight Ed, il have a job for you in a few weeks

 

[mstrpkl]

Shes developing some color on her buds! :) some leaves are turning purple, really cool to see! Todays the first day these colors have started showing.

Also got my digital microscope today, really hard to use but really cool! And gave water last night so heres the updated timelapse as well :)

 

[PooToe]

What week of flower are you in? I'm seeing quite a bit of amber in your trichome pics. How prevalent is this around the plant? Amber trichomes are trichomes that have hit their peak and are starting to degrade. It's ok as long as it's just 10% but more than that and you'll start to get a couch lock effect. You may be close to harvest.

**EDIT** I just figured that you flipped around 8/23 so you should be in week 7. Still early but the amber trichomes are saying that you are getting close. You may have lucked out and found a cultivar that matures quickly. Maybe a few more weeks? Not sure.

 

[mstrpkl]

What week of flower are you in? I'm seeing quite a bit of amber in your trichome pics. How prevalent is this around the plant? Amber trichomes are trichomes that have hit their peak and are starting to degrade. It's ok as long as it's just 10% but more than that and you'll start to get a couch lock effect. You may be close to harvest.

**EDIT** I just figured that you flipped around 8/23 so you should be in week 7. Still early but the amber trichomes are saying that you are getting close. You may have lucked out and found a cultivar that matures quickly. Maybe a few more weeks? Not sure.

Yea i think im comin up to week 9 since light flip actually, 58 days since flip so yea right around there. I was really surprised to see so much amber, the jewelers loupe wasnt picking nearly that much up. I like the heavier stuff though, this is considered an indica hybrid so i definitely wanna go for that couch lock sleep style weed. Thats the most common stuff i purchase, so if i can avoid buyin any for a while il be happy haha

Id be pretty damn happy with what iv got right now if it were ready to harvest. But im thinking 1 more week, max 2. I want those colors to come in a little more and get those trichomes a little more developed, i can still see a good amount of clear in a couple pictures. But definitely amber and cloudy are taking over! Im really excited to harvest this and start the drying/curing process

 

[mstrpkl]

What week of flower are you in? I'm seeing quite a bit of amber in your trichome pics. How prevalent is this around the plant? Amber trichomes are trichomes that have hit their peak and are starting to degrade. It's ok as long as it's just 10% but more than that and you'll start to get a couch lock effect. You may be close to harvest.

**EDIT** I just figured that you flipped around 8/23 so you should be in week 7. Still early but the amber trichomes are saying that you are getting close. You may have lucked out and found a cultivar that matures quickly. Maybe a few more weeks? Not sure.

Out of curiosity, are there any tricks i can use to boost trichome development in the final stretch? I know water and light are important, bruce bugby said you can theoretically get more trichs by leaving the light on for the last 48 hours. Im guessing id wanna shut the light off for at least a few hours before harvesting and harvest in the dark. Iv heard cannabis plants move certain sugars and things down to the roots at night, thats what id want. Minimizes the compounds in the buds, should make it easier to dry and cure i think. Right? Lol

 

[PooToe]

Out of curiosity, are there any tricks i can use to boost trichome development in the final stretch? I know water and light are important, bruce bugby said you can theoretically get more trichs by leaving the light on for the last 48 hours. Im guessing id wanna shut the light off for at least a few hours before harvesting and harvest in the dark. Iv heard cannabis plants move certain sugars and things down to the roots at night, thats what id want. Minimizes the compounds in the buds, should make it easier to dry and cure i think. Right? Lol

What I do to boost trichome development is to push the light output to its limit in early-mid flower. Trichomes are part of the plants defense system. One of those things it defends against is high light energy. I'll establish a light limit by pushing the plant until I start to see it light stressing then back off the light having established a threshold. I'll keep the light at that level or even a bit higher but just below light stress level. The plant will respond by producing as many trichome sites as it can to protect itself. Once these sites are established they won't go away. Stressing the plant the last 48hrs can boost trichomes but I'd rather boost early and let them develop for a longer period of time.

In your case, I would do what Dr. Bugbee said and you can get a nice little spike but I'm not sure how much of a spike you'd be able to see in just 48hrs.

Sugars get stored in leaves. Yes, there are also sugars moving through the plant from those leaves to the flowers but most of the sugars are in the leaves where photosynthesis is taking place. I'm not sure the amount that will move will be that significant but if you want to try that I would remove all the fan leaves first so that you cut off the main sugar supply and whatever is left can migrate to the roots as you said.

Compounds left in the plant don't really speed up or slow down dry and cure. It's more about moisture content.

 

[mstrpkl]

Heres another question for everyone, wanna get a feel for peoples preferences for drying. When you harvest your plant, do you usually trim the sugar leaves off and hang the entire plant upside down? Or do you cut the branches with buds off and hang those individually? Maybe some of you break down and wet-trim the buds and dry the buds individually? What usually works best?

I feel like hanging the entire plant upside down after trimming the sugar leaves would probably be best but thats just an assumption based on what iv seen a few people do.

Thanks for your advice! :)

 

[AZreefer]

Heres another question for everyone, wanna get a feel for peoples preferences for drying. When you harvest your plant, do you usually trim the sugar leaves off and hang the entire plant upside down? Or do you cut the branches with buds off and hang those individually? Maybe some of you break down and wet-trim the buds and dry the buds individually? What usually works best?

I feel like hanging the entire plant upside down after trimming the sugar leaves would probably be best but thats just an assumption based on what iv seen a few people do.

Thanks for your advice! :)

Bro you can't take the same approach as 95% of the peeps here unless you gunna shell out the bucks to drop your ac all the way to 60. The valley is due to bounce back up to the high 90s next week so depending on where you are that could be pricy. I consulted as many experienced growers as I could on this when it was time. The best advice I got was to leave plants whole and untrimmed, dry until the chlorophyll breaks down and leaves are just crispy then trim and put it into jars to allow the moisture to redistribute throughout the buds in attempts to prevent over drying. Or build you a room or area you can control the temperature. I chopped in waves so I didn't dry everything the same length. I think the first 2 I let dry too much and now they are sort of rehydrated from the pouches and smoke very decent. It smells better than it tastes but it doesn't taste bad. 78 degrees and 60% the for about 5-7 days before I jarred it. No hay hay hay smell. The upside is you don't need to worry about mildew. . If you come up with something please share with the class. I know @Olddude420 is getting ready for that step too.

 

[mstrpkl]

Bro you can't take the same approach as 95% of the peeps here unless you gunna shell out the bucks to drop your ac all the way to 60. The valley is due to bounce back up to the high 90s next week so depending on where you are that could be pricy. I consulted as many experienced growers as I could on this when it was time. The best advice I got was to leave plants whole and untrimmed, dry until the chlorophyll breaks down and leaves are just crispy then trim and put it into jars to allow the moisture to redistribute throughout the buds in attempts to prevent over drying. Or build you a room or area you can control the temperature. I chopped in waves so I didn't dry everything the same length. I think the first 2 I let dry too much and now they are sort of rehydrated from the pouches and smoke very decent. It smells better than it tastes but it doesn't taste bad. 78 degrees and 60% the for about 5-7 days before I jarred it. No hay hay hay smell. The upside is you don't need to worry about mildew. . If you come up with something please share with the class. I know @Olddude420 is getting ready for that step too.

Hahaha yea dude i live in a small town way northeast of phoenix in the mountains, its currently raining and 56° here and its gonna get down to 31 tonight lol so lucky for me i dont have to worry about the heat as much as a lot of people. Still gets dry as a mother fucker out here, but even in mid summer we rarely touch above 95°. And our high will only be about 74° in the coming weather flip-flop haha :)

Im definitely gonna keep you all updated though! Cant wait to see this baby fully cured

 

[AZreefer]

Hahaha yea dude i live in a small town way northeast of phoenix in the mountains, its currently raining and 56° here and its gonna get down to 31 tonight lol so lucky for me i dont have to worry about the heat as much as a lot of people. Still gets dry as a mother fucker out here, but even in mid summer we rarely touch above 95°. And our high will only be about 74° in the coming weather flip-flop haha :)

Im definitely gonna keep you all updated though! Cant wait to see this baby fully cured

Damn. We have a cold snap of 75 today and tomorrow. Where the fuck are the 30s lol wow. I get so used to cooking down here I forget there are actually temperate spots in AZ and it's not ALL an oven. Tbh I can't easily recall the last time I left the valley.

 

[mstrpkl]

Damn. We have a cold snap of 75 today and tomorrow. Where the fuck are the 30s lol wow. I get so used to cooking down here I forget there are actually temperate spots in AZ and it's not ALL an oven. Tbh I can't easily recall the last time I left the valley.

Yea bro i used to live in phoenix. In a few places, but the last place really sucked ass. Woke up to gunshots outside sometimes, all kinds of shenanigans. Dont miss it lol my lady and i got outa there and bought a house up here, lovin every minute of it lol


As a side note, im thinking of harvesting on monday. Shes really starting to look ready, and monday is my next day off. That means that starting tomorrow, no lights off for 48 hours just to see if i get more trichome growth. I can measure that by checking it with the digital microscope, if theres a bunch of clear headed trichs then i know it was producing more with the extra light. Il keep you all updated on that

Edit: i turned my light to 70% just to make sure i dont stress her out too much

 

[Organic13]

WOWZER...

I'm hoping she's as good as she is beautiful. Her new colors are just stunning.

I can tell you how I dried and cured, but I'm sure you want expert advice.

 

[mstrpkl]

WOWZER...

I'm hoping she's as good as she is beautiful. Her new colors are just stunning.

I can tell you how I dried and cured, but I'm sure you want expert advice.

Nah il take any advice! This thread should be a place where everyone throws ideas around and we find out what works best

 

[Organic13]

Keep in mind, I am outdoors.

I cut my stalks in 2 stages, big stalks and small ones. Then, I do a wet trim. I did a bud wash, which I'm not sure I'll do again. (I still have tons of aphids on my dried plant material. Everyone tells me it is par for the course with outdoor growing. Nasty lil heifers.). Next, I hang dry outside to allow excess water to drain off. Then, move them all into the house to hang for minimum of 7 days. My temps have been 68⁰, but I couldn't get my humidity above 50% for most of my batches. Final step is to jar up with a hygrometer and a boveda pack to keep them at 62% rh in the jars. Burp as needed, if using jars.

If I grew indoors, I probably wouldn't wet trim. Feel like it destroys a lot of the trichomes.

 

[PooToe]

 

[mstrpkl]

Keep in mind, I am outdoors.

I cut my stalks in 2 stages, big stalks and small ones. Then, I do a wet trim. I did a bud wash, which I'm not sure I'll do again. (I still have tons of aphids on my dried plant material. Everyone tells me it is par for the course with outdoor growing. Nasty lil heifers.). Next, I hang dry outside to allow excess water to drain off. Then, move them all into the house to hang for minimum of 7 days. My temps have been 68⁰, but I couldn't get my humidity above 50% for most of my batches. Final step is to jar up with a hygrometer and a boveda pack to keep them at 62% rh in the jars. Burp as needed, if using jars.

If I grew indoors, I probably wouldn't wet trim. Feel like it destroys a lot of the trichomes.

I actually just trimmed a tiny little bud leaf off today to get a steady look at it with the microscope, thats what made me decide its time haha i didnt like it, felt bad but its hard to get a view when the plant keeps moving lol good advice though!

View attachment 2306071

This is basically what i think im gonna do, i have a tent so i can control things really well :) and i bought those grove bags a while back too, pretty excited to check those out.

I got one of those 2 prong wood moisture meters, i should wait until that thing measures the buds at an average of 60% correct?

 

[PooToe]

Keep in mind, I am outdoors.

I did a bud wash, which I'm not sure I'll do again. (I still have tons of aphids on my dried plant material. Everyone tells me it is par for the course with outdoor growing. Nasty lil heifers.).

A week before harvest, on a sunny day preferably, hose down the entire plant with a firm spray of water trying to knock off as many bugs as you can. After you've hit every spot you think bugs may be hiding take an electric leaf blower and blow off the water to keep the plant dry. This should knock off most of the aphids. Make an insecticidal soap solution and spray your plant down. This will kill off most of what's left and hatchlings. Couple days later hose down the plant and leaf blow it the same way you did the first time. The plant should be fairly clean of most bugs, dirt, droppings and soap solution. I like using this method rather than budwashing after the plant has been harvested for outdoor grows. You can go straight to drying the plant after chop rather than having to wash and separate and do all that stuff.

 

[PooToe]

This is basically what i think im gonna do, i have a tent so i can control things really well :) and i bought those grove bags a while back too, pretty excited to check those out.

As you can see I chop and hang the entire plant. Because I want low and slow the water content in the main stem and branches allows me the control to be able to not overdry. You don't want to go too long and keep them wet because mold but the moisture in the branches and leaves will allow a nice slow even dry and help you to not overdry which is very easy to do especially the first few times. Once you get a feel for it it's pretty easy but it takes a second to get the hang of it.
If you're going to do it like the picture I would think the easiest way would be for you to chop the main stem. Remove the pot. Unhook your net and turn the whole plant over and hook it to a rope ratchet you already setup on one of your roof bars. Re hook your net hooks to your poles and adjust it accordingly. Never have to remove the net.

You can also harvest by removing all the flowers immediately, wet trimming and putting them out on a dry net. I've done it that way too. It's a good way to get your bud to dry fast but not so fast it turns into hay. You have to stay on top of them because they'll dry fairly quickly so you have to catch them when they are at the right level. My only other issue is they don't seem to cure as well. Dry parts fine. Not sure why but when I do whole plant hang dry I get a more flavorful cure. No science to tell me why or if I'm just imagining things but that is what I observe.

I got one of those 2 prong wood moisture meters, i should wait until that thing measures the buds at an average of 60% correct?

You want your meter to hit anywhere from 8% - 11%. You could probably jar the flowers a little higher and do multiple burps a day but that's kind of a hassle.

 

[MisterDunk]

Awright.....if you need help I got this guy on stand by.

View attachment 2303172

HUH!!!!##$*(+

 

[MisterDunk]

You want your meter to hit anywhere from 8% - 11%. You could probably jar the flowers a little higher and do multiple burps a day but that's kind of a hassle.

As you can see I chop and hang the entire plant. Because I want low and slow the water content in the main stem and branches allows me the control to be able to not overdry. You don't want to go too long and keep them wet because mold but the moisture in the branches and leaves will allow a nice slow even dry and help you to not overdry which is very easy to do. You can harvest by removing all the flowers immediately, wet trimming and putting them out on a dry net. I've done it that way too. It's a good way to get your bud dry fast but not so fast it turns into hay. You have to stay on top of them because they'll dry fairly quickly so you have to catch them when they are at the right level. My only other issue is they don't seem to cure as well. Dry parts fine. Not sure why but when I do whole plant hang dry I get a more flavorful cure. No science to tell me why or if I'm just imagining things but that is what I observe.

Can you make a signature description of why you are named that? I am confused8877665544